Door opening and closing device



Jan. 7, 1936. c E ALLEN 2,026,956

DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING DEVICE Fild July 1, 1935 fl w 1. 7 46 45 i 7 447 9 4 INVENTOR. 22 6/ owl/P45: E. AAAE/V Fjg. E

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relatesto improvements in devices for opening and closing garage doors, bymeans of power derived from an electric motor, whose operation can becontrolled from. a distance.

In garages, especially large commercial garages, where cars are enteringand leaving at frequent intervals, and where large doors must be used,the opening and the closing of the door involves a large amount of laborif the door must be v opened and closed by hand, with the result. thatthe door is usually left open, except during the coldest weather.

One type of door frequently employed in the larger commercial garages issuspended at points near its upper corners from tracks that usuallyintersect each other at an angle of 90. Such doors are frequentlyemployed where the door opening is adjacent one corner of the garage, in

which case, one track extends parallel with the adjacent wall, and theother extends along the top of the door opening and parallel thereto.

The door is provided with a hanger at each end which cooperates with oneof the tracks. When such doors are to be moved from closed to openposition, the end nearest the wall is pulled inwardly along the trackthat extends parallel to this wall, whereupon the other end will movealong the track that extends parallel with the to door opening.

The door will always form the hypothenuse of a right angled trianglewhose other two sides are formed by the tracks, as long as it is inpartly open or partly closed position.

:35 It is the object of this invention to produce an electricallyoperated mechanism that can be controlled from one or more points spacedfrom the door in such a way that by merely closing an electric switch,the door will be automatically 40 moved from closed to open or from opento closed position, as the case may be.

Another object of this invention is to produce an operating mechanismthat will also serve to hold the door in closed position in oppositionto 45 any force exerted therein from the outside;

The above and other objects that may become apparent as the descriptionproceeds are attained by means of a combination and arrangement of partsthat will now be described in detail, and for 50 this purpose referencewill be had to the accompanying drawing in which the device has beenillustrated, and in which Figure l is a plan view of the link mechanism,taken on line i--l, Figure 2, and shows the door 55 in open position;

Figure 2 is a side elevation showing the operating mechanism, with theexception of the link mechanism illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the position of the links when the door isalmost close-d; 5 Figure 4 is a section tairen on line 4-4, Figure 2,and, shows the construction of the friction clutch;

Figure 5 is aside elevation of the clutch show-- ing a portion brokenaway; 10

Figure 6 is a bottom. plan view of the large sprocket wheel; and

Figure '7 is a wiring diagram.

In the drawing, reference numerals l0 and H designate two walls of agarage. provided with a door opening whose ends have been designated byreference numeral l2. Extending along the inside of wall It! and locatedabove the top of the door opening, is a track l3 and located along theinside of wall II is a track 0 M which extends parallel to the wall, andpreferably at right angles to the track l3.

The exact angle that the tracks make with each other is not material,and may vary many degrees from a right angle, in either direction. 5 Forthe purpose of this description, the two tracks will be considered, asextending at right angles.

Suspended from the tracks l3 and M, by suitable roller suspensions l5and I6, is a door [1. The suspension member l5 can move freely alongtrack l3, and member Hi can move freely along track M, so that the doorwill always form the hypothenuse of a right angled triangle whose sidesare the tracks I3 and 14, except when it is in fully open or fullyclosed position.

When the door is in the position shown in Figure 1, it leaves the dooropening fully open, and this will be referred to as the open position,while the position occupied by the door in Figure 3, is the closedposition. In Figure 3, the door 40 has been shown as slightly open, soas to make it possible. to distinguish more clearly between the track l3and the door, and so as to obtain a clearer distinction between thedifferent links.

When the door is to be moved from open position (Figure 1,) to closedposition (Figure 3) a pull must be exerted on the end of the door towhich the hanger I5 is secured, and this can be continued until the doorhas rotated through an angle of 45. The door will now start binding, andwill resist. a further pulling force, and it is therefore necessary toexert a pushing force on that end adjacent the hanger I6, which willcomplete the movement to closed position.

When the door is to be.- moved from the posi- The wall In is 15 tionshown in Figure 3 to that shown in Figure 1, the operation justdescribed must be reversed.

The mechanism for opening and closing the door, which will now bedescribed, consists of a plate l8, that is suspended from the ceiling 9by rods or bolts 2|] and 2|. The plate must be rigidly supported, butsince the invention relates to the mechanism and not to the supports,the latter have been indicated in a more or less diagrammatic way.Attached to one end of plate I8 is a bearing 22 in which is rotatablymounted a crank shaft 23. Attached to the upper end of the shaft 23 andsupported by the upper end of bearing 22, is a sprocket wheel 24, whichhas also been indicated by dotted lines in Figure 1.

Secured to the lower end of shaft 23 is a friction disk 25. The edge ofthis disk has two diametrically opposed notches 26. Attached to andcarried by the disk 25 is a crank arm 21, which is provided at one endwith a removable cap 28. The enlarged end 29 of the crank shaft isprovided with lugs 30, and part 28 has corresponding lugs 3|. Bolts 32have one end attached to the lugs 30, and pass through openings in lugs3|. Springs 33 are interposed between the lugs 3|, and the nuts 34, andare under compression so that they serve to force the cap 28 toward thecooperating portion of the crank arm.

The adjacent concave surfaces of the cap 28 and the end of the crank armhave grooves for the reception of the edge of the disk 25, as shown inFigure 5. Cap 28 is provided with a pin 35 that extends through thegroove and serves to engage one of the notches 26. If for any reason theresistance to rotation of crank arm 21 exceeds a predetermined amount,the pin 35 will move out of the notch 26, with which it is engaged, andshaft 23 can thus rotate against a moderate resistance until the currentto the motor is turned off. This will be more fully explainedhereinafter.

A stub shaft 36 is provided at its lower end with a base 31 which issecured to the upper surface of plate l8. Mounted for rotation on shaft36 is an assembly comprising a sprocket wheel '38, and a worm gear 39,which are interconnected. -A sprocket chain 40 interconnects sprocketwheels 24 and 38, while worm 4| on motor 42 cooperates with the wormgear 39. A two way switch 43 is fastened to the upper surface of theplate beneath the rim of the sprocket wheel 24. The switch is providedwith a rocking lever 44, and the lower surface of wheel 24 has inclinedflanges 45 that engage the handle 44 and rock the handle.

In Figure 7 a simple wiring diagram illustrates the control circuit andin this the source of the current has been designated by Ba and theswitch 43 has been illustrated as a two-way switch having a pivotedcontact 46 that can be rocked into engagement with either one ofcontacts 41 and 48, which are connected by suitable conductors withcontacts 41a and 48a, of another two-way switch having a rockablecontact 46a and a handle 44a.

It will readily be seen that the current to the motor can be controlledby either one of the two switches shown. When the motor has operated toturn sprocket Wheel 24 and crank arm 21, 180, the flange earns 45 willopen switch 43 and stop the motor.

From the above it will be seen that by operating switch 43a the crankarm 21 can be turned through an angle of 180 and will stop automaticallyat the end of each such movement.

Referring now more particularly to Figures 1 and 3 it will be seen thatthe plate l8 carries three stationary pivots 49, 50 and 5|, which are 5located on its lower surface. A link 52 has one end connected with thepivot 59 and the other end pivotally connected at 53 with the end of alink 54 whose other end is connected with the door at 55. A link 52a hasone end connected with the stationary pivot 5|, and the other endconnected by means of the pivot 530. with the link 54a, whose other endis connected with the door by means of the pivot 55a.

A link 56 is operatively connected with the pivot 49, and has its longerlever arm pivoted at 51 to the end of a link 58 whose other end ispivoted at 53 to the common pivot of links 52 and 54. A link 58a has oneend connected with the common pivot 53a of links 52a and 54a, and theother end connected, by means of a pivot 59, with one end of link 56a,whose other end is pivotally connected at 60 with the end of link 56.

A connecting rod or link 6| has one end pivoted at 62 with the end ofthe crank arm 21, and the other end connected, by a pivot 63, with link56a.

Attention is called here to the fact that in Figure 3 the door has beenshown as slightly opened, and when it is fully closed, pivots 55a, 53aand 5| will be substantially on a straight line and form a toggle thatforces the door to closed position, and holds it in this position inopposition to an inwardly directed force tending to move it to openposition.

Let us now assume that the door is fully closed, and switch 43a shiftedso as to start the motor. The crank arm 21 will begin to turn clockwise,and will soon arrive at the position shown in Figure 3. Pivot 63 willcontinue to turn about pivot 60 as a center and the latter will remainstationary because the forces are so related that the component at pivot60 is substantially in the direction of the length of link 55.

It is evident that as link 55a is being slowly turned about its pivot60, it will put link 58a under tension, and this will be transmitted topivot 55a, by link 54a, thereby exerting an inward pull on the door, inthe direction of the length of track l4 and this will continue untillinks 52 and 52a form substantially a straight line at right angles tothe bisector of the angle between the walls in which position the doorwill form the hypothenuse of a. 45 right angled triangle, whose sidesare formed by the tracks I3 and I4. Any further rotation of crank arm 21will produce a rocking of link 56 about pivot 49 in a clockwisedirection, and this produces a force acting through the pivot 55, and inthe direction of track l3, so as to push the door farther toward openposition, and this continues until the parts reach the position shown inFigure 1, where the door is shown in fully open position.

When the door is to be returned from open to closed position the switch43a is operated and 65 this starts the motor which in turn imparts afurther clockwise movement of crank arm 21. The result of this movementis that link 56 is rocked counter-clockwise about pivot 49, and throughthe intermediary of links 54 and 58, exerts a pull on the door at pivot55 which moves it downwardly (Figure 1) along track I3, until the doorreaches its half way position.

During the first half of the closing movement, link 52a remainspractically stationary. During 2,02 6,& 56

the last. half of the closing movement, link 52 moves through a smallangle only, (from a position parallel to a line joining pivots 50 and 5|to that shown in Figure 3) while link 52a moves from a position in whichit is parallel to a line joining pivots 5!! and 5! to the position shownin Figure 3. The result of this action is that during the first half ofthe movement. of the door in either direction, a pull is exerted on theleading edge of the door in the direction of movement while during thelast half of the movement a push is exerted on the following edge of thedoor.

The change from a pull to a push action at the half open point preventsthe door from binding, and results in an easy movement, whereas if apull were depended on to complete the movement, the door would not fullyopen or fully close.

An inspection of Figures 1 and 3 will show that the door is not parallelwith the track in either instance, and any pull on the right side of thedoor in Figure 1 will have only a negligible component in the directionof track l3, whereas a comparatively small force exerted against pivot55 will be effective to move the door along track [3.

This is a very important consideration in a mechanism for operatingdoors of this type which, if it has not been shown in the prior art, isclaimed broadly as the basic principle of this invention.

Let us now consider what would happen if the door should meet with anobstruction.

If the door is stopped before it has reached the final position ineither direction, the friction clutch shown in Figures 4 and 5 willoperate and allow sprocket 24 to rotate until one of the cams 45 opensthe switch 43.

When the obstruction has been removed, and the motor is again started,disk 25 will rotate relative to the crank arm 21 until the pin 35engages a notch 26, whereupon the disk will begin to turn the crank armand the parts will be in synchronized position once more. The frictionclutch and the two diametrically opposed notches 26 for engagement witha pin 35 or some equivalent projection, serves as a safety device thatprevents breakage or damage to the motor.

Since the worm gear drive is non-reversible it is evident that the doorcannot be opened by iorce exerted on it alone, but when the door is inclosed position, links 52 and 54 form a straight toggle that resistsinward movement as heretofore explained.

It is evident that this device can also be used for operating doors ofthe type known as overhead doors, as can be seen from Figures 1 and 3,in which the track Mmay be considered as positioned along the ceiling.Such doors require two sets of link mechanisms, but can be operated by asingle motor, or by separate motors whichever is found to be the mostdesirable.

Attention has already been called to the fact that the two tracks canintersect at any angle greater or less than One limit of this angle isor a straight line, in which case we can assume both tracks to becombined in track l4 (Figure 1) or track l3, (Figure 3). In this case,the door should be reduced'in length to substantially one half of thatshown, or pivots 55 and 55a moved closer together. In fact, where thedoor moves in a straight line, pivots 55 and 5501, can be merged into asingle pivot located near the center of the door, or any place along thedoor.

In the embodiment shown, links 52 and 52a have been shown as attached toseparate pivots 5B and 5|, but. this is merely for convenience inconstructing the device as. these two pivots can be. combined ifdesired, and it is to be understood that the invention is to beconstrued broadly enough to include a construction in which pivots 50and 51 have been merged into a single pivot.

The door has been shown and described as suspended from the tracks,which is believed to be the most practical construction, but it isevident that the door may be supported from a track located below, ifsuch construction should be considered desirable.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1,. A device for opening and closing a door which is mounted formovement along a track, comprising in combination, a source of power,means interposed between the power and the door for transmittingmovement to the door, said means comprising two sets of link assemblieseach connected with the source of power and with the door, each linkassembly serving as a means to exert a pull on the door in the directionof its movementduring the first one half t l6 distance of the movement,and as a means to apply a pushing force to the door during the last halfof its movement when moving in the opposite direction.

2. A device for opening and closing a door which is mounted for movementalong a track, comprising in combination, a source of power, meansinterposed between the power and the door for transmitting movement tothe door, said means comprising two sets of link assemblies, eachconnected with the source of Power and with the door, one link assemblyserving as a means to exert a pull on the door in the direction of itsmovement for substantially one half the distance of the movement in onedirection, and the other link. assembly serving as a means to apply apushing force to the door for the remainder of its movement in thisdirection, one link assembly being substantially inactive during thehalf of the door movement when the other link assembly is active.

3. A device for opening and closing a door whose ends are slidablysupportedon two horizontal intersecting angularly related tracks,comprising in combination, .a source of power, means interposed betweenthe power and one end of the door for pulling it in the direction of oneof the tracks until the door is substantially half open, and meansinterposed between the source of power and the other end for exerting apushing force to the door for the remainder of its movement, the twomeans being so related that when one is active the other is inactive.

4. A device for opening and closing a door of the type whose ends aresuspended for movement along two horizontal tracks that intersect each.other at an angle of substantially 90 degrees, comprising a source ofpower, means comprising a link mechanism interposed between the powerand one end of the door for exerting a pull on the door in the directionof the length of the track, during the first half of the movement of thedoor in one direction, and means comprising a second link mechanisminterposed between the same source of power and the other end of thedoor for exerting a pushing force on that end of the door during thelast half of its movement, the two means being so related that when oneis active the other is inactive.

5. A device for opening and closing a door whose ends are slidablysupported on two angularly related tracks, comprising in combination, abase, two pair of hinged links, one link of each pair being pivotallyconnected to the base and the free end of the other link being pivotallyconnected with the door, one at each end of the door, a motor carried bythe base, and means operated by the motor for efiecting independent andsuccessive movements of the pairs of links whereby one end of the doorwill be subjected to a difierent force than the other.

6. In a building having one wall provided with a door opening, a tracksupported above the door opening, another track extending inwardly froma point adjacent one side of the door opening, a door having each endsupported from a separate track whereby when the door moves it willassume the position of one side of a triangle whose other sides areformed by the two tracks, a base supported from the building, a motorcarried by the base, the base having two stationary pivots, two pair ofhinged links, one link of each pair being pivotally connected with thedoor and the other link of each pair being connected with one of thepivots on the base, and means interposed between the motor and the twopair of links for first imparting to one pair of links a movementtending to pull the door along one of the tracks, and then imparting tothe other pair of links a movement tending to push the door along theother track to complete the movement thereof.

7. In a building having one wall provided with a door opening, a tracksupported above the door opening, another track extending inwardly froma point adjacent one side of the door opening, a door having each endsupported from a separate track whereby when the door moves it willassume the position of one side of a triangle whose other sides areformed by the two tracks, a base supported from the building, a. motorcarried by the base, the base having two stationary pivots, two pair ofhinged links, one link of each pair being pivotally connected with thedoor and the other link of each pair being connected with one of thepivots on the base, a third pivot carried by the base, a link connectedto rock about the third pivot, the pivotal connection being nearer oneend of this link than the other, a link connecting the end of thepivoted link, farthest from the pivot, with one pair 01' links neartheir hinged connection, a floating link connected with the other end ofthe pivoted link, the free end of the floating link being connected withthe other pair of links adjacent their hinged connection by means ofanother link, and means pivotally connected with the floating link andoperated by the motor for imparting motion to the same.

8. In a building having one wall provided with a door opening adjacentthe adjoining wall, a

door track located above the door opening, a second track extendingalong the other wall and at substantially right angles to the firsttrack, a door having one end slidably connected with one track and theother end similarly connected with the other track, a base supportedfrom the building, the base having two stationary pivots, the pivotsbeing located on opposite sides of a line bisecting the angle betweenthe tracks, a pair of hinged links pivotally connected with each pivot,the free end of each pair of links being pivotally connected with thedoor adjacent its ends, a motor carried by the base, means operated bythe motor for imparting an unequal movement to the pairs of links tofirst exert a pull on the door, and then a push on the door, a two-wayswitch for controlling the motor, and means for operating the switch tostop the motor when the door reaches either open or closed position.

9. In a building having one wall provided with a door opening adjacentthe adjoining wall, a door track located above the door opening, asecond track extending along the other wall and at substantially rightangles to the other track, a door having one end slidably connected withone track and the other end similarly connected with the other track, abase supported from the building, a motor carried by the base, a shaftcarried by the base for rotary movement, means for rotating the shaftfrom power derived from the motor, a crank arm carried by the shaft, afriction clutch connection between the shaft and the crank arm, saidclutch having two points of increased resistance, means comprising alink mechanism interposed between the crank and the door for firstexerting a pull on the leading edge of the door in the direction inwhich it is to move, and then a push on the following edge oi. the door,and means for stopping the motor when the door reaches open and closedpositions.

10. A door operating mechanism, comprising a base, two pair of hingedlinks, one end of one link of each pair being pivotally connected withthe base, the free ends of the other links two pair being connected withthe door, a link pivoted at a point between its ends, to a pivot carriedby the base, the pivot being nearer one end than the other, forming along and a short of the lever arm, a link connecting the free end of the60 longer lever arm with the link of one pair that is pivoted to thebase, a floating link pivoted to the free end of the shorter lever arm,the other end of the floating link being connected by a link to the linkof the other pair, that is pivoted to the base, a source of power, acrank arm mounted for rotation by the source of power, and a connectingrod extending from the crank arm to the floating link.

CHARLES E. ALLEN.

